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3 Actions Engineering Professionals Can Take to Build Their Personal Brands

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This is a guest blog by Nader Mowlaee

Personal BrandsLike all other career professionals, engineers should constantly be evolving in order to move forward in their careers and reach the ultimate goals they are pursuing. There are however some aspects of career advancement that typically happen outside of normal working hours, and the standard education and training path, such as personal development efforts focused on personal brands. This might include picking up a new book to read, taking an online 3D design course, or starting a coding Bootcamp.

Personal brands related actions are different because they enable you to communicate and promote who you are and what you’re destined to do. Such actions allow you to build an online presence, showcase your engineering design portfolio, or even influence other professionals in your field to follow your lead.

Most engineers feel uncomfortable when attempting to build their personal brands. So in this article, I’ll share three simple but important personal branding actions that you can take to enhance your short-term job search results and long-term career aspirations. These three steps will help you in both finding engineering jobs and ultimately finding yourself in a career that matches both your unique skill set and your personality.

Here are three actions related to personal brands that may be helpful in your engineering job search or career journey overall. [Read more…] about 3 Actions Engineering Professionals Can Take to Build Their Personal Brands

The Engineering Management Institute to Launch The Structural Engineering Podcast

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The Structural Engineering Podcast

Structural engineering, like most engineering industries, is constantly evolving with technical guidelines, new techniques, and updated standards.  There are also new and exciting structural engineering projects being completed every day worldwide.

This niche industry deserves its own podcast to cover these issues, and therefore the Engineering Management Institute (EMI) is excited to be launching The Structural Engineering Podcast (TSEP).  TSEP will cover items including but not limited to performance-based design, fasteners and connections, post-tensioned structures, smart structures, tsunami modeling, software solutions, seismic design, blast resistant design, wood, business issues, professional development for structural engineers, how to specify things effectively, and many more topics.

The podcast will be sponsored by Computers and Structures, Inc. (CSI) and we are grateful for their support.  (CSI) Computers and Structures, Inc. is recognized globally as the pioneering leader in software tools for structural and earthquake engineering. Software from CSI is used by thousands of engineering firms in over 160 countries for the design of major projects.

[Read more…] about The Engineering Management Institute to Launch The Structural Engineering Podcast

Why Technical Skills Alone Won’t Get You That Engineering Job

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Why Technical Skills Alone Won’t Get You That Engineering Job is a guest blog by Andrei Kurtuy

Technical SkillsTechnical skills are the tools of the trade for engineers. But don’t think for a second that the key to landing a great engineering job comes down to how your technical skills stack up against the competition.

Whether you’re a future or recent engineering graduate, or you’re well along in your career, looking for a new job is a situation you’re likely to face. Of course, you’ll want that job to be fulfilling and relevant to all that valuable training you’ve undertaken.

Well if you want to find your perfect job, you can’t let your technical background do all the talking. In today’s hyper-competitive work environment, recruiters are likely to receive hundreds of applications from people who (probably) have similar or better credentials than you.

So, what can you do to make your resume and cover letter grab an employer’s attention and land you a job interview? Redirect your attention. [Read more…] about Why Technical Skills Alone Won’t Get You That Engineering Job

Maximizing Productivity Hacks for Engineering Professionals

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Maximizing Productivity Hacks for Engineering Professionals is a guest blog by Kyle Umlauf, P.E.

Maximizing ProductivityEffective and successful engineers have something in common. They are capable of effectively managing their time. As a consulting engineer, your time is a precious commodity. Your clients are paying for your knowledge and time. Therefore, the action of maximizing your time, focus, and overall productivity, will equate to more money. Learning to master your time can do wonders for your engineering career and personal life.

In your career, managing your time will help you take on more tasks, delegate tasks as needed, and become a more productive member of the company. This will increase your value to the company and help you climb the ranks more quickly. In your personal life, better time management will help to maximize every hour of the day and make you feel in more control of your own life. This article is adapted from a previous article on my personal blog. [Read more…] about Maximizing Productivity Hacks for Engineering Professionals

How to Use a Grading System to Improve Your Engineering Performance

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This is a guest blog by Kyle K. Cheerangie, P.E.

Do you demand a high level of performance from yourself? One of the major reasons for orienting yourself towards results is the need to set higher standards for your work. Establishing a habit of a grading system will help you reflect on and better understand your performance, and ultimately help you make adjustments if needed. [Read more…] about How to Use a Grading System to Improve Your Engineering Performance

Effective Delegation Techniques for Engineering Professionals

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Effective Delegation Techniques for Engineering Professionals is a guest blog by Mary Jane Riccardi

Effective DelegationIn my 10+ years working as a learning and development professional in an engineering consulting firm, there was one skill that I heard frequently was lacking for both project managers and organization managers. That skill was delegation. On the surface, effective delegation sounds pretty easy. However, in reality, it can be very difficult and uncomfortable. Delegation is the assignment of responsibility to another person to carry out a specific activity. [Read more…] about Effective Delegation Techniques for Engineering Professionals

Chief Engineer = Professional Engineer + Manager

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Chief Engineer = Professional Engineer + Manager is a guest blog
by Justin OsborneChief Engineer

Nowadays, the engineering market has become more and more demanding and competitive. It’s not enough to get your degree; you need to constantly learn and develop new skills to stand out from the other engineers and work on exciting projects. Therefore, keep on reading to discover what skills are necessary to become a chief engineer and how to acquire them. [Read more…] about Chief Engineer = Professional Engineer + Manager

What Engineers of the Future Need to Know to Succeed

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What Engineers of the Future Need to Know is a blog post by Matthew K. Loos, PE, LEED AP 

Engineers of the Future

The following is an excerpt from The Business of Engineering: A New Mindset for the Engineer of the Future available only through this Kickstarter Campaign.

Engineers of the future will need to possess skills not commonly taught in engineering schools today. However, we can see that the curricula for a majority of engineering schools are beginning to change. Many schools are starting to adopt alternative learning strategies to engage more and more brighter students who may not have previously chosen engineering as a career path. The engineering schools have started to realize that technology is moving at such a rapid rate that they must prepare students differently than they have in the past.

[Read more…] about What Engineers of the Future Need to Know to Succeed

6 Hacks for Maintaining and Tracking P.E. Licenses

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6 Hacks for Maintaining and Tracking P.E. Licenses is a guest blog
by Christian Haring of Harbor Compliance

Tracking P.E. LicensesEngineers are known for accuracy, attention to detail, and finding elegant solutions to complex problems. Yet when it comes to licensing, most firms lack a functional, comprehensive system to safeguard compliance. Every month, engineering boards report fresh citations for lapsed P.E. licenses. Unfortunately, once the lapse occurs, the damage is done.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to eliminate those risks and manage all aspects of your firm’s licensing efficiently and effectively.

[Read more…] about 6 Hacks for Maintaining and Tracking P.E. Licenses

The Benefits of Scheduling Software for Engineering Professionals

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The Benefits of Scheduling Software for Engineering Professionals is a guest blog by Jim Hughes

Scheduling SoftwareWith the influx of new technologies, the engineering field has become more dynamic than ever. The expanding role of modern engineers, the increasing volatility of their work, the growing needs for engineering staffing and the rising need for engineering talent – all of these make project management and employee management challenging for engineers. Thankfully, there are tools that can make things easier for engineers, and one of the most essential is scheduling software. [Read more…] about The Benefits of Scheduling Software for Engineering Professionals